I will tell you why.... By Nancy (Harrison) RC Bundaberg City Daybreak)

I was asked about three months before D9560 Conference in Mackay, why would I ever want to go to District Conference? I mean – none of my club were going and I only knew of one other person from Bundaberg who was going,

But for me – that is part of the point. District events cannot be district events if members of the district are not represented. If individual clubs are not represented, then their story is both clipped, and in some ways, lacking in the enrichment that District events engender…but also their story is not told to other members of Rotary.

Before Mackay, my Rotary life was flagging – I was tired and just had a reoccurrence of an ongoing health issue that I thought I had kicked to the curb, I wasn’t even sure I would be able to make it to Mackay – the long drive (and I know 7 hours is NOTHING in our district) and then the issues with my health. But on the Friday, I hopped into my newly serviced car, turned the music to loud and popped off up the highway.

I spent the Saturday morning driving around Mackay looking at the harbor and sights around town. I visited Vintage Kitten, an amazing little cottage stuffed full of retro, vintage and antique treasures. While having a very civilised cup of tea (out of beautiful antique china) with the owners, a bunch of obviously Rotary Members walked through the door. I say obviously because they were all dressed in various Rotary shirts emblazoned with the Rotary logo (see – it’s important for finding mates in strange towns). My shirt was from my former club (Rotary Belconnen) and one of my new mates had on a New Zealand shirt. We stood and chatted for a while and promised we would catch up during the conference. It’s amazing how recognizing a logo on a shirt can lead to a long, meaningful discussion. I had made my first District Conference friend!

Registration started at 2.00pm on Saturday. Karen K was fabulous making sure everyone met Kim (from the yet-to-be-charted club of Claremont), Bill and Dan from the Passport Club, newly arrived members from the Northern Territory and other people who were in the vicinity. I met so many people in the foyer that afternoon, people who kept an eye out for me, who didn’t know me, but wanted to include me in their experience of District Conference.

So, as to the actual conference – the speakers were amazing – each one totally wonderful and unique in their own way. Vernacular from Rachel and Anne’s talks have made their way into my everyday conversations…as have the gifted red socks to all the men associated with my Club. I have shared far and wide some of my astounding learnings – the complexities of Covid Compliance through the TGA, the heartbreak (and many levels) of refugee status…and the mud. Who could forget all the travel, water and mud in the Solomons Water and Sanitation project. The truly personal story of Polio from Bill, the harrowing refugee talk and the triumph of the Beecroft project. But I will always carry with me the analogy of “Are you bogged mate?” and the buckets of shit…

The District Governor’s Conference dinner was a real highlight for me. I was looking for somewhere to sit when my new NT friends waved me over to their table. I politely accepted and was introduced to the others at the table. As it turned out, this was a great honor for me. Roy Fauntleroy shared his joy and elation when he accepted his Service Above Self Award. Prath, the DG nominee, sat across the table from me and has connected me to Rotary of the Future. Oh…remember that fellow I met at Vintage Kitten, well it was Greg Marlow, Treasurer of Zone 8, who will be attending Houston RI Convention next month. How very remarkable that we sat together and talked about Rotary on an international level. John Hall (DG Elect) visited the table right when we took the photo and to have so many District 9560 high-flyers together in one place was amazing.

So, a huge part of my conference experience was making friends from all over our great district and uniting as one team with one goal. Not only were the people I met from geographically all over our district, but also from all over Rotary as an organization.

You never really know who you will meet or where you will go when you hop out of your little comfort box and make an effort to attend and then meet new people. I can hardly wait to get to Longreach next year, but I am also now looking forward to (and saving my bickies) to attend Zone 8 Conference in Canberra later this year and Rotary International Convention in Melbourne next year.